Conventionally, internal combustion engines and associated components such as transmissions and gearings require lubrication fluids to ensure smooth operation and extended life. These lubrication oils must be periodically removed and replaced to maintain optimum lubrication and engine performance. This requirement of periodic fluid maintenance is particularly apparent with farm vehicles and associated machinery due to the harsh working environment such machinery is often subjected to. Further, farm equipment requires large amounts of lubrication fluid. For example, the transmissions of farm tractors can require upwards 32 to 35 gallons of expensive, special grade transmission fluid. A common problem associated with such fluid is that with extended use metal particles from transmission gearing wear become entrained within the fluid, thereby requiring replacement of the fluid. Routine replacement of contaminated transmission fluid becomes necessary to extend the life of the equipment. Although such replacement is very often a costly expenditure for the owner, failure to do so may result in mechanical breakdown and costly repairs. This problem is not limited to transmissions, but also includes the lubrication oil in the crankcase of the internal combustion engine itself. This oil must also be periodically changed as it is subject to contamination from engine wear deposits.
The actual replacement of the fluid or oil can be a cumbersome and a messy operation when handling large quantities of fluid. Currently, the narrow clearances beneath the vehicles and the multiple compartments and casings which must be opened and drained restrict the oil change equipment to conventional drain pans or the like. In addition, transferring oil from a drain pan situated beneath the vehicle to a remote location is difficult when dealing with such large quantities of oil. Further, if the drained fluid is to be reused it must be somehow filtered prior to refilling back into the machinery. All of these independent steps and procedures combine to make fluid and oil replacement an expensive, tedious, time consuming and dirty operation.
Numerous apparatus exists in the prior art for replacement of engine oil or similar fluids. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,904 (Lease) discloses a drain tray apparatus mounted on rollers for collecting coolant from an internal combustion engine. The device includes an electric pump which conveys fluid collected in the pan through a conduit into the tubular handle for recycling back into the automobile radiator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,315 (Ohta) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,673 (Takeuchi) disclose apparatus for exchanging oil including a pump which extracts the oil from the vehicle as well as a reservoir and pump which replaces the extracted oil with fresh oil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,023 (Cislak) discloses a device for collecting heavy oil from machinery and transferring the oil under pressure to a remote container for reuse or reclamation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,672 (Senese) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,574 (Kieber) disclose wheeled oil drums equipped with a compressor or a pump means allowing extraction of the oil from the oil pump of the automobile engine via conduit lines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,983 (Hechavarria) discloses a hand pump for removing oil from a compressor to a remote reservoir.